There is a classmate in my computer programming class that's trying to convince me that B17/Laetrile is a cure for cancer. I'd never heard of the substance, so I did some research on it. From what I found out, B17 is derived apricot seeds and that cyanide is also in those seeds. I also read that it can be dangerous for cancer patients to eat these seeds and that there is clinical evidence that B17 is ineffective. Also, he seems to think there is a conspiracy between the chemo industry, medical community, and government to suppress information about this cure. This is one of many arguments he tried to use to support his arguments. I was not convinced by his arguments. Does anyone here have an informed opinion about B17?
CET Master of Logic
Joined: Apr 03, 2003
Posts: 5636
Location: SoCal, USA
_________________ "Much of the suffering in the world comes from the delusion that we are separate from one another." - Shakyamuni Buddha
Leszek Resident
Joined: Jan 31, 2005
Posts: 372
Location: Canada
Posted:
Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:54 am
The argument from conspiracy works for some reason because ppl readily believe it without a second thought.
Seriously though.
The medical community is made up of thousands of ppl. Some of them are going to get cancer, or have family that gets cancer, there is no way they are going to put such a secret ahead of that. And it cant just be a few ppl at the top either, research is not conducted by the heads of companies. Individual researchers might be suppressed, but most of them are ppl and no matter how cynical you are you must concede that some of them are going to care enough to leak the information out. The situation will not support itself. There would be a scandal might quick. In fact there would be many scandals. How many thousands of cures are being suppressed by the cooperations? 100's? 1000's?
Another point, there is not any evidence, there are not studies nor experiments that back up the claims. (Which there would be if someone leaked the info out.) There isn't even evidence of a conspiracy. (Except the circular evidence that their claim isn't supported.) So where are they getting this information from? Double Blind Placebo Controlled studies? Cant be. So where? oh yea, some one just made that shit up and blamed the conspiracy for lack of evidence.
kevtech Just Arrived
Joined: Dec 11, 2006
Posts: 2
Posted:
Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:00 pm
CET
Leszek
Thank you for replying with your thoughts. My classmate seemed so reasonable when were discussing atheism. Then gradually, from my
perspective, everything seemed to be seen through a conspiratorial lens by him. It became very tiring pointing out the flaws in his arguments in support of his claims that B!7 is the cure for cancer. I finally had to politely end dialogue with him on the topic.
not_a_theist Resident
Joined: Jun 07, 2004
Posts: 353
Location: Texas is the home of the players and pimps
As long as there remain crippling and fatal diseases, there will undoubtedly be individuals eager to offer "alternatives" to scientific treatment and large numbers of desperate individuals willing to purchase them. The Laetrile phenomenon started with a pharmacist-physician who developed one concoction after another for the treatment of serious diseases, especially cancer. It continued with his son, a self-imagined scientist, who spent many years in college but failed to earn any graduate degree. A man who earned his fortune from gun-running and a catholic newspaper columnist promoted it as a persecuted drug that cured cancer. A cadre of John Birch Society members saw the repression of Laetrile as a sinister plot against their basic freedoms. After it was dubbed "vitamin B-17," an army of health food devotees promoted Laetrile, along with vitamins and diet, as nature's answer to cancer.
After peaking in the late 1970s, the "Laetrile Movement" ran out of steam in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, the NCI study, the death of Steve McQueen, and other unfavorable publicity. But as the Laetrile fantasy faded, its prime movers added many other "miracle cures" to their arsenal and added AIDS, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and multiple sclerosis to the list of diseases they claim to treat. Although they appear to speak with sincerity, they still fail to sponsor the type of research which could persuade the scientific world that anything they offer is effective.
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